I love the fact that I am outdoors and that if I am truly blessed there will be a breeze blowing as I hang the clothes out.
When we had less washing and children obviously, I would hang out our clothes in a very specific order. From Stephen down to the smallest child. All the jeans/ skirts/ outer layer clothes would hang together and then the singlets, underwear, socks paired together even, hankies and other odds and ends. I loved looking at it like this and would fold up as I took it in.
For many years I wanted a clothes line that was an old fashioned line and not a rotary one. When we moved to our property we had no clothes line and Stephen looped up some rope between trees to hang our washing out. How I remember the joy of hanging out the washing on those early days as I walked over to the where it was.
I loved the sense of simplicity and pleasure to be able to do this as countless other women have done before me.
Some time later my husband and older boys built me a magnificent clothes line that holds a huge amount of washing, and I still love the opportunity to be in the outdoors enjoying the time supplying this beautiful service to my family.
If you asked our children what is my favourite household task I am sure they would all agree the simple and mundane task of hanging washing would be what they would say.
So I would encourage you to take simple pleasure in the humble washing line.
I am linking to Dayles Simple Pleasures for this post
13 comments:
Gae!
I'm so glad you decided to join Dayle's meme. You'll love it!
It's wonderful and all the ladies are such a blessing to know!
I understand what you mean about hanging out the washing.
Such a satisfying household task - especially on a lovely day.
I've always wanted an old fashioned line too :-)
bless you..Trish
Hi Gae! When our two oldest children were 4 and 3 and I was pregnant with our 3rd, we lived for a few months in a unit in Sydney. I had to haul the washing and children up and down 4 flights of stairs to the laundry in the basement. When we moved back into a house, I LOVED my washing line, just outside my back door. So much appreciation for a few lines of plastic coated wire. I must admit, I do not enjoy hanging out washing during winter when a bitter cold wind is blowing. My hands go numb and I have to struggle to cheerfully tackle this task. But clean washing flapping in the sunshine - I agree- wonderful!
That was very special to read, and to know that the simple, even mundane things, bring joy.
It's encouraging to read this. Recently, I've found that the busier life gets, the more enjoyable and special those 'mundane' tasks become. There are times when I wish I could put aside other priorities to do things like doing the laundry or gardening. Especially without a large list of to-do's to follow....
Oh Gae...this is mine also!
Too much snow and cold winds are visiting the mountains...but Oh Spring - come quickly :-)
M.
Gae I could honestly spend several hrs here on your blog .It is like a wonderful motherly love book !
Gae maybe you could have your blog published 1 have sections in the book on seasonal crafts & food , motherl;y happiness from the simply things etc. ?
just sayin ;-)
I too love hanging wash ! isn't it often a memory of our past too . I remember hauling water in pails with my mum & gramma to do wash . even when the well had no pump and they used a pully & a rope to bring the pail up ☺
When my Mum came to MX to visit us . One of the best memories I have is she and my dd Natasha then 3yo hanging up the wash under the poinsetta tree ☺ I'm sure it is a loving memory for Natasha
One of the images I've had in my head to look forwad to at the cottage is taking all the wool quilts out of the house & hanging them on the line to air out ☺
When we first bought our home I had to hand wash all our laundry in the wash tub ! it was to hard especially for sheets . Then dh got me a wringer washer ! I really loved that washer and that is our plan to get one again when we move ☺
dh also set up 2 clothes lines for me back then but now I only use one . we only have the 2 boys at home now !! Here in the city it is awful dirty though and I cannot hang wash until the snow is all gone plus my bird feeder is right by the clothes line and I know those birds would sit a top my laundry lol out in the country though I can hang wash outdoors all yr long even in the winter ☺
I might even post a clothes line pic or two today Gae .
Thanks so much for this inspiration and seriously I'm not kidding about a book ;-)
Hi Gae...you make washing and hanging clothes outside...look like fun. Can you believe...I've never ever done that.
Ohhhhhh! I agree! Don't get me started on the joys of hanging out washing. I like it so much I'm thinking of starting a new blog just about that subject alone. I am only half joking:)
God bless.
One of the reasons that I would like to live in the country is that my neighborhood has a covenant rule against clothes lines. I find that very, very, sad.
You can hang them out if you can do it without it being seen so we have fashioned a way to use our back deck.
But how I wish I could string them across a line like my mom and grandmother did.
It was an artform for my grandmother. I'm sure of it.
I enjoyed this simple pleasure.
Ohh you are making want to wish in spring all the harder. I am looking forward to hanging laundry outside once again. I would love for you to show us what your laundry line looks like. I need some ideas and yours sounds so neat. I can only hand one load at a time. ((sigh))
Blessings<><
-Mary
Hi Gae,
Hanging out the washing can be an art form.
I only have a tiny area to use and there are table and chairs, bench seats and pot plants to negiotiate around.SOOOOO the clothes are hung according to the 'how tall is the plant,how low is the seat' system.I hang as much as I can on hangers and clothes racks, and all socks are hung on a round thingy with hanging pegs. The racks are put near the side passage to get the breeze.I love it......
God Bless
Barb from Australia
Gae, this is a wonderuful post. It brought back memories from my childhood, when my mom would hang the washing on the line, while my sister and I played hide-and-seek between the clothes. What a great simple pleasure. Thanks for linking up.
Dear Ladies,
I really enjoyed this post and how it made me think of the simple pleasure. I am sure I have thought of a few posts on simple pleasures already to share. I thank you for your imput and am so pleased to hear others share my delight in this activity.
Dear Rox,
Once again I am humbled by your thoughts and encouragement, dear friend I am thankful for your continued support.
Dear Canadagirl I will post a photo of our clotehs line soon too
Have a great Sunday everyone
Blessings
Gae
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